Firemen may be appointed.

Proviso.

Fees to be affelled.

Proviso.

Prefident, to be chofen

Kis duty.

VI. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the trustees of said village, or a majority of them, to appoint not exceeding twenty-five firemen out of the inhabitants of said village, and the same or any of them to remove at pleasure, and to appoint others in their stead, to regulate the times of meeting and exercises of said company of firemen, to appoint their captain and other officers, and to make such by-laws, rules and regulations for the government of said company, and inflict, ordain and establish such penalties for the breaking or disobeying such by-laws, rules and regulations as they may deem expedient: Provided, That no fine or penalty shall be inflicted on any fireman exceeding two dollars for any one offence, and that the trustees shall have the power of remitting such fine and penalties whenever a majority of them shall deem it proper.

VII. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said trustees and their successors annually to assess on the several inhabitants and freeholders living in said village the amount of the taxes which the freeholders and inhabitants of said village shall at their annual meeting determine to be raised, levied or collected, in proportion to the property and situation of the inhabitants so to be assessed, and the advantages they shall respectively derive from said tax, and they shall also execute the offices of fire-wardens of said village in cases of fire: Provided, That if any person shall deem him or herself ag grieved by any such assessment as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for any such person to appeal from the determination of the trustees to any three justices of the peace in the county Broome, giving notice to the said trustees of such appeal, and of the time and place for determining thereof by such justices, who shall hear the same and do therein what to justice shall appertain.

of

VIII. And be it further enacted, That the trustees within twenty days after their election, or a major part of them, shall, and it is hereby made their duty to assemble at some conve nient place in said village, and there to choose and appoint some one suitable person of their body to be president of the board of trustees, and some other suitable person to be clerk of said board of trustees; and it shall be the duty of the president to preside at the meetings of the trustees, to order extraordinary meetings whenever he may conceive it for the interest of said village, to see that all the by-laws and regulations of said village are enforced and faithfully executed, to prosecute in the name of the trustees all offences against or violations of the by-laws ordained and published as aforesaid, to keep the seal of said village and to affix it, together with his signature, to all such rules and regulations as a majority of the trustees shall deem proper; and in case of the death, removal or inability of the president to discharge the duties of his office, it shall be the duty of the secretary to notify the other trustees of such death, removal or inability, who shall within ten days thereafter meet and elect another president out of their body to hold the office until the next annual meeting; and it shall be the fur ther duty of the president to take care of and preserve all the property belonging to the village, to preside over all public meetings of the village, and to do all other things proper

for

the president of the village to do; and it shall be the duty of the clerk to keep the minutes of all such votes, orders, rules and regulations as are made by the freeholders and inhabitants of said village at their public meetings, and also to attend the meetings of the trustees and record all the by-laws, rules and regulations passed by them; and the trustees shall have the power to remove such clerk and appoint another, and to appoint one pro tempore in the absence of the clerk; and the clerk shall receive such compensation for his services as the trustees shall deem sufficient, to be paid out of the funds of the village.

IX. And be it further enacted, That the collector shall collector's within such time as shall be hereafter limited by the by-laws of duty. the corporation, after the receipt of his warrant for collecting any tax that may have been ordered to be raised, collect and pay the same over to the treasurer; and that such collector shall have and exercise the same power in the collecting of said taxes by distress and sale as the several collectors of towns have in the levying and collecting of taxes; and that all monies which may at any time be in the hands of the treasurer shall be liable to be drawn out by the trustees, or a majority of them, and applied agreeable to the provisions of this act.

the trustees

X. And be it further enacted, That the said trustees shall Expenfes of keep an account of their necessary disbursements, and on ex- to be paid. hibiting the same to the treasurer shall be entitled to receive the amount thereof out of any monies in the treasury; and the treasurer and collector shall receive for their several services such suitable compensation as the freeholders and inhabitants of said village shall at their annual meeting determine.

ferve when

XI. And be it further enacted, That if any one of the inhabi- Penalty for tants of said village qualified as aforesaid shall be elected or reffing to chosen a trustee, and shall refuse or neglect to serve as such, elected. it shall be lawful for the trustees who do accept and serve, or the majority of them, to impose upon such person so neglecting or refusing a fine not exceeding ten dollars for any one offence; and that every fine and penalty imposed agreeable to the provisions of this act may be sued for and recovered in the name of the trustees, in an action of debt, in which it shall be sufficient for the trustees to declare generally that the defendant is indebted to them by virtue of this act.

meetings.

XII. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty Notice to be of the president to give notice to the inhabitants of said vil- given of lage of all public meetings at least one week previous thereto, in such manner as a majority of the trustees may deem proper; and that it shall be lawful for the trustees, or a majority of them, to call a public meeting of the inhabitants of said village whenever they may think it expedient.

how difpofed

XIII. And be it further enacted, That all fines, penalties and Fines, &c. forfeitures, and all monies obtained in any manner whatever by f virtue of this act, shall be paid into the hands of the treasurer for the use of said village; and the treasurer shall, and he is hereby authorised in case any person having so received any money by virtue of this act to and for the use and benefit of said village, and shall refuse or neglect to pay the same to him, to prosecute every such offender in the name of the trustees

This act may be repealed or altered.

of said village for monies had and received to and for the use of said village.

XIV. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the legislature at any time to repeal or amend this act.

Trustees fhall have power to lay out

ruaus.

CHAP. CXVI.

An ACT vesting further Powers in the Trustees of the Village of Newburgh.

Passed April 2, 1813.

I. BE it enacted by the people of the state of New-York, rep resented in Senate and Assembly, That the trustees of the village of Newburgh and their successors shall be and they are hereby appointed commissioners of streets, roads and highways within the village of Newburgh.

II. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful to and for the said trustees, or any four of them, and they treets and shall have and possess exclusive power to lay out streets, roads and highways within said village of such width, extent and direction as to them shall seem most conducive to the public good, and to shut up, divert and discontinue, or order to be shut up, diverted or discontinued, any streets, roads or public highways, or any parts or sections thereof within said village; and it shall be the duty of said trustees to lay out said streets, roads or highways of such ample width as they may deem sufficient to secure a free and abundant circulation of air among said streets, roads and highways when the same shall be built upon; and whenever the said trustees or any four of them shall shut up, divert or discontinue, or order to be shut up,

They may

enter on

diverted or discontinued, any street, road or highway in said village, or any part or parts thereof, that then and in such case it shall be lawful for the owner or owners of the land or soil thereof thereupon to take possession thereof and to hold and enjoy the same, to his, her and their own use.

III. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful to and for the said trustees, and for all persons acting unthat purpofe. der their authority, to enter in the day time into and upon any

lands for

lands, tenements and hereditaments which they shall deem necessary to be surveyed, used or converted for the laying out, opening and forming of any street or road as aforesaid; and that the said trustees, or any four of them, shall cause two similar maps of such streets or roads so to be laid out by them as aforesaid, and of the limits bounding the lands by them surveyed to be made, accompanied with such field notes and elucidatory remarks as the nature of the subject may require, which maps, accompanied with such field notes and remarks, shall be attested by the said trustees, or any four of them, before any person authorised to take acknowledgments of deeds and conveyances, one of which maps shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county of Orange, there to remain of record, and the other of said maps to belong to and to be retained by said

trustees.

how to be

how to be

IV. And be it further enacted, That whenever the said trus- Damages tees of the village of Newburgh shall be desirous to open any eftimated. streets, roads or highways so to be laid out as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the said trustees to agree with the owner or owners of such lands, tenements or hereditaments for and about a reasonable compensation to be made to him, her or them for such lands, tenements or hereditaments, and in case of disagreement or in case such owner or owners shall be feme covert, under age, non-compos mentis, or out of the village of Newburgh, that then it shall be lawful for any two judges of the court of common pleas in and for said county of Orange, upon the application of either party, to nominate and appoint three discreet and disinterested persons, being citizens of said state, commissioners to view said lands, tenements and hereditaments, and to estimate the damage such owner or owners will respectively sustain by relinquishing the lands, tenements or hereditaments so required of them for the purposes aforesaid, and upon the coming in of such report, signed by the said commissioners, or any two of them, and the confirmation thereof by the said court of common pleas, the said trustees shall proceed to cause the same to be assessed by the assessors of said village Aflefliments upon all the property intended to be benefited thereby, in pro- made. portion as nearly as may be to the advantages which each shall be deemed thereby to acquire; and the said assessors after having made said assessment or estimate, shall certify the same in writing to the said trustees, and being ratified by the said trustees at their meeting, shall be binding and conclusive upon the owners and occupants of such lots so to be assessed respectively, and shall be a lien or charge on such lots as aforesaid, and such owners or occupants shall also respectively be liable on demand to pay the sum at which such houses or lots respectively shall be so assessed to the collector of said village; and in default of such payment, or any part thereof, it shall be lawful for the said trustees, or any four of them, of whom the president of said village shall be one, by warrant under their hands and seals, to levy the same by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of such owner or occupant refusing or neglecting to pay the same, rendering the overplus, if any, after deducting the charges of such distress and sale to such owner or occupant, and the money, when collected or recovered, shail be paid to the person or persons in whose favor the report for compensation may be made, in full satisfaction for such lands, tenements and hereditaments, and upon such assessment being completed the said trustees shall be and become seised in fee of all such lands, tenements and hereditaments, and thereupon the said trustees, or any person acting under their authority, may immediately take possession of the same without any suit or proceeding at law for that purpose, in trust nevertheless, that the same be kept open for a public street, road or highway: Provided nevertheless, That it shall be at the election of the Proviso. owner or occupant of the land so included in any street, road or highway, to have his damages assessed by three commissioners as aforesaid, or by two justices of the peace and a jury, according to the provisions of the fifteenth section of the act entitled "an act to regulate highways," in which last case the costs of

Monies rais

ed on lands infants, &c. difpofed of.

belonging to

how to be

Truftees may

affe fled.

such assessment shall be paid as is in the said section of the said act provided.

V. And be it further enacted, That whenever any of the proprietors of any such lands, tenements or hereditaments shall be infants, non compos mentis, or absent from the said county of Orange, the said trustees may pay the sums mentioned in such report that would be coming to such proprietors respectively into the said court of common pleas, to be secured, disposed of and improved as the said court shall direct, and such payment shall be equally valid and effectual as if made to such proprietors themselves if they had been present, of full age and compos mentis.

VI. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for fue for taxes the said trustees, instead of the remedy herein above provided, if they shall see fit, in case any owner or occupant of any lands or tenements within said village shall neglect or refuse to pay the tax assessed as aforesaid, to sue for and recover the amount of the same from the owners of such lands or tenements, with interest and costs, in any court in the state having cognizance thereof, in an action of debt, in which action it shall be suffi· cient for the said trustees to alledge that the said defendant or defendants, or his, her or their testator or intestate is or are indebted to the said trustees in the sum so assessed as aforesaid, whereby an action hath accrued according to the form of the statute entitled "an act vesting further powers in the trustees of the village of Newburgh," to demand and have of the said defendant or defendants, his, her or their testator or intestate, the said sum of money without setting forth the special matter. VII. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act confhall not af- tained shall affect any agreement between landlord and tenant feet agree respecting the payment of any such tax, but they shall be antween land-swerable each to the other in the same manner as if this act had never been passed; and if any money so to be assessed shall be paid by any person when by agreement or by law the same ought to have been paid by some other person, then it shall be lawful for the person paying the same to sue for and recover the same, with interest and costs, in any court having cognizance thereof, in an action of debt, for so much money paid for the use of the person who ought to have paid the same; and the assessment aforesaid, with proof of payment, shall be conclusive evidence for the plaintiff in such suit.

This act

ments be.

lord and

terrant.

VIII. And be it further enacted, That the village of Newburgh shall be considered as a town for all the purposes intended by this act, and by the act entitled "an act to regulate highways," and the several acts supplementary thereto, except that the overseers of streets, roads and highways for said village shall be chosen and appointed by the trustees of said village. IX. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall be act may give sued for any thing done in pursuance of this act, it shall be lawful for such person to plead the general issue, and to give this act and the special matter of defence in evidence under such plea.

Perfons fued

under this

the fpecial

matter in evidence.